"This case is political; political context important. I hope that the courtroom will not become a place for score-settling by political parties," he told the Vilnius Regional Court as he gave testimony in the political corruption trial.

Gapšys said he had hoped that the prosecutor would lift the charges against him.

Prosecutors say that Raimondas Kurlianskis, a former vice-president of MG Baltic, one of Lithuania's biggest business groups, gave over 27,000 euros in bribes to Gapšys, who was then a member of the Seimas.